Betway Premier League DUBLIN

Adrian Lewis kept his play-off place alive as Taylor beat Barney, van Gerwen beat Wade as did Barney in their second match and Chisnall earns a draw with Wright.

Wednesday 05 Apr 2017

Article by &dash; PDPA

Adrian Lewis beat Gary Anderson to hold on to his hopes of a play-off place in the Betway Premier League. Lewis beat Anderson 7-3 to put him on 11 points and within touching distance of the top four.

Adrian Lewis drew level on 11 points in the league table with Gary Anderson as he avenged last week’s defeat to the Scot with a sparkling 7-3 victory. The pair shared the opening four legs, but Lewis punished a string of missed doubles from his rival to take five of the next six as he secured the win.

Michael van Gerwen produced a moment of magic to snatch victory against James Wade as the Betway Premier League visited Dublin’s 3Arena on Thursday, when Phil Taylor, Adrian Lewis and Raymond van Barneveld also enjoyed wins. Reigning Premier League champion Van Gerwen maintained his spot at the top of the league table with a scintillating 7-5 win over Wade in a game of the highest quality.

Wade led 4-2 early on after landing three 14-darters and a 13-dart leg, but saw Van Gerwen power ahead with a stunning four-leg burst, sparked by his second 12-darter of the contest, to secure a minimum of a draw at 6-4. A 12-darter in reply from Wade forced a deciding leg, and the 2009 champion scored 140, 140 and 180 to leave 41 as he chased a draw – only to see Van Gerwen follow a 171 score with a stunning 138 finish to claim both points.

Van Gerwen ended the game with a 113.62 average to Wade’s impressive 110.82, and the World Champion said: “A good game comes from two players and James was phenomenal, and I want to give all credit to him.

Phil Taylor claimed a fine 7-3 victory over Raymond van Barneveld in what could be the great rivals’ final encounter as they met in front of 9,000 fans at the 3Arena. After the pair traded 121 bullseye checkouts in the early stages, Taylor pulled into a 4-1 lead by taking out 85 and a 13-darter. Van Barneveld took out 124 as he pulled back to 4-3, but he was crucially unable to level as a pair of double 16 finishes pushed Taylor clear again before he took out 66 to seal victory.

Van Barneveld later returned to the stage to defeat Wade 7-2, as the left-hander suffered a second defeat on his 34th birthday. After Wade took the opening leg, Van Barneveld hit two 14-darters to move 3-1 up and also hit legs of 13 and 12 darts in pulling clear with four straight legs to claim the points.

Peter Wright came from 6-3 down to claim a draw with Dave Chisnall, who ended a three-game losing run in a game where he landed seven 180s and twice set up potential nine-darters. After Chisnall opened with an 11-darter, legs of 14 and 13 darts from Wright moved him 2-1 up, but Chisnall took two of the next three before moving back ahead with a thrilling 145 finish in leg seven.

He also took the next two legs to secure a minimum of a point at 6-3, but Wright clawed back the next two legs to force a decider and traded maximums with his rival before finishing 64 to snatch a point. Chisnall admitted: “I was happy to get the point but also disappointed not to get the two points because I was in control when I went 6-3 up and I slackened off.

The Betway Premier League continues at the Echo Arena in Liverpool next Thursday, with Anderson and Wright competing twice on the night, while Lewis takes on Van Barneveld in a tasty fixture and Taylor plays Wade in a repeat of two previous Premier League finals.